


I just called to say...

by ChocoNut



Series: Modern JB love [56]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, First Meetings, Jaime tries to flirt, Sort Of, call centre
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:54:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26877007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChocoNut/pseuds/ChocoNut
Summary: When Brienne, a customer care executive for the credit card division of a bank, takes a call one evening, she's in for an annoying customer. And also something that'll trickle down to her personal life.
Relationships: Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth
Series: Modern JB love [56]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1557871
Comments: 24
Kudos: 104





	I just called to say...

“I hope I can handle this one better than the previous caller,” Brienne thought aloud as she answered the phone.

From across the cubicle, Sansa held out a thumbs up. 

“Good evening, this is Brienne, how can I help you?” she introduced herself, bracing herself for another showdown. She’d been having quite a day since morning, and yet another irate caller—particularly one towards the end of the day was the last thing she needed.

“Hi—” said a crisp male voice from the other side. And then there was silence. All she could hear was a few seconds of breathing.

“Mr. Lannister,” she read out, skimming through the customer’s profile on her screen. “What can I do for you?” 

“I need your help.”

Brienne rolled her eyes and exchanged a look with Sansa. This was going to be one of those trying types again. “That’s what I’m here for, Mr. Lannister,” she reassured him, all politeness, the effort of cutting out the tiredness from her voice something only she knew of.

“There’s a transaction I got an alert for sometime back—” Again, there was a brief silence, a hesitation she sensed, “An online membership to um—” she could hear him awkwardly clear his throat “—a streaming service.”

When she looked up the details, she couldn’t help smiling. _Yeah, a streaming service. If this is Netflix, I’m your grandma._ Putting him on mute, she mouthed to Sansa, “Porn. Like many others, he doesn’t want to admit it.”

“Yes, I can see a subscription charge on your card,” she informed him, suppressing a chuckle. “How can I help you with it?”

“I just signed up for a one-month trial, and I certainly didn’t authorize this renewal,” he lied through his teeth, just like many other callers who signed up for porn subscriptions only to completely forget about cancelling a recurring billing. “If you could just reject it from your end, it’ll help.”

“I’m afraid I can do nothing here, Mr. Lannister.” The guilt in the way he’d projected it was too familiar, particularly during the lock down when people were confined to solitude, and with no other way to satisfy their _urges,_ they’d impulsively signed up for these. “You could take it up with them and request them for a refund.”

Another sigh, her suggestion was met with, and some deep breathing. It looked like he’d never end the call, and unfortunately, until he did, she had to stay on the line.

“If there’s anything else I can help you with,” she began again when unproductive seconds ticked by. 

“Nothing, thank you,” he replied, and she could sense the glumness in his tone, one of a man walking towards his doom.

“Thank you for calling and have a nice day, Mr. Lannister.”

“What is it with these porn subscribers?” she vented out to Sansa as soon as she’d hung up. “They sign up without reading the fine print and then—” her mind went back to the clipped tone, his polished accent “—but he doesn’t seem to be the type—”

“Trust me, dear, they don't really have a _type._ You can’t go by their level of sophistication,” her friend opined with an all-knowing smile. “When it comes to these guilty pleasures, people want to keep it under the covers—” she giggled “—literally and metaphorically.”

Brienne searched her mind for the name. “Jaime Lannister, does it ring a bell—”

“—the famous businessman,” Sansa burst out. “No wonder he was so embarrassed. Has a name to protect and all that.”

+++++

“Hi!”

“How can I help you this time, Mr. Lannister,” Brienne asked, surprised at the coincidence of having his call routed to her for the second consecutive day.

“I was just perusing through my card info page and—” he sounded diffident, but not as much as he did when he’d called the first time “—I was wondering—”

“Yes?” she prompted, when all went quiet at the other end.

“This transaction we discussed last evening—it hasn’t yet appeared under the un-billed debit listing.”

“Any charge usually takes about one to three days to show up,” she explained, hiding her chagrin. Surely a man this educated and online-savvy would know that. And surely, this wasn’t the first time he was using a card. “It takes a while for the merchant to present it to us and after that it’ll be added to your statement.”

“Thank you, Brienne,” was his reply, but she could make out from the abrupt edge to his statement there was something more.

“Is there anything else I can help you with?”

A couple of seconds went by. “That’s all. Have a nice day, Brienne.”

“Tell me something,” Brienne called out to Sansa, “we’re assigned these calls based on whichever of us is free to attend to one, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then how come—” she shook her head slowly, frowning to draw logic out of yesterday and today “—it was the same Lannister guy who called yesterday.”

Sansa gave her a warm smile. “It’s his lucky day again.”

+++++

“Hey, Brienne!”

Muting herself, she looked to Sansa in surprise. “It’s _him_ again, the porn dude. Third day in a row.”

Her friend had nothing but an encouraging smile and a _go on_ gesture for her.

“Yes, Mr. Lannister—”

“Call me Jaime,” he said, with a slight flirtatious edge to his voice this time.

“How can I help you, Mr. Lannister,” she continued in her professional tone, mildly irritated with the way he spoke.

“I was just wondering if I could request a duplicate bill for my last billing cycle.”

Brienne could go nowhere with her exasperation. “You have an option in the Internet Banking menu for it. You could just go there and click on—”

“I’m not that tech savvy, Brienne.” Why was she getting the feeling he was fibbing? “I’m—I can't really make much of these options. Where do I go? If you could guide me—”

“I’ll log a request for you,” she wearily offered, knowing that was the only way to put an end to this odd series of customer care complaints. “Is there anything else?”

“Nothing as of now,” he said, and Brienne had the uncanny sensation this wasn’t the last she’d hear from him. “Bye, Brienne.”

“Have a nice day, Mr. Lannister.”

“That man seems interested in you,” Sansa voiced something that had never occurred to her. “I think he’s just finding excuses to talk to you—”

Brienne laughed. “Just coincidence. He doesn’t know what I look like. If he saw me—”

“You never know, Brienne,” Sansa interrupted with a wink. “Maybe he’s fallen for your voice. Maybe—”

“Ridiculous,” she dismissed, though she wouldn’t admit to Sansa that she felt a warmth creep up her neck everytime she recalled that easy going voice that wavered between sophisticated and seductive.

++++

“There he is again,” she moaned, hitting the mute button as soon as she heard the first hello. 

“Good evening, Brienne,” he greeted her before she could say anything.

“I—” Unable to stop her mind probing into the probabilities of this _coincidence_ , she let down her usual protocol. “Four consecutive days—how do you manage to get through to me every time, Mr. Lannister?”

“ _Jaime_ ,” he insisted, then went on to enthusiastically explain further. “It’s easy actually. I just put in a request to whoever is assigned my call that I’d like to speak to you.”

“But—that’s not how it works,” she weakly pointed out.

“Usually,” he agreed, “but there are certain perks to being a preferred customer, one among your top ten, to be precise.”

Brienne was to do her job, of course, but oddly, it didn’t seem all that tiresome anymore. Looking back, _he_ was a voice that had been subconsciously ringing in her head, firmly etched onto her mind. More than once during breaks she found herself picturing what it might be like to have him read out erotic stories to her.

“Brienne—”

“Sorry,” she mumbled, shaking herself back to normal. “What can I do for—”

“I just called to say—” there was the familiar reluctance again “—that I wanted to hear your voice.” 

A part of her was annoyed, yet, she couldn’t help feel flattered. “This call is being recorded, Mr. Lannister—”

“ _Jaime_. Yes, I know we’re being tracked, and that’s why I called to ask for your personal number.”

“That’s not really professional,” she found herself saying, despite the urge to spell it out for him. “I’m sorry, but I can’t.”

A long exhalation later, he whispered, “I apologize if I’ve been too pushy.”

As soon as he disconnected, Brienne slumped back into her chair. “I might never speak to him again.” It came out as a complaint, a lament.

“You should’ve given him your number,” Sansa mildly scolded, eyes narrowed in disapproval. 

++++

When Brienne walked out of office that evening, her head was full of this mysterious Jaime Lannister.

 _Not interested,_ she retorted to herself, in the hope that if she kept reiterating that, he’d leave her alone. _And I definitely_ _don’t regret it cutting him off—_

Her mobile rang, thankfully, at that very moment, and welcoming the distraction she answered without second thoughts though it was an unknown caller.

“Brienne—”

“Mr. Lannister?” she mumbled, stopping by the elevator. “How did—how come—”

“I have ways,” he said, and she could hear the sense of achievement in his voice. “I just called to say—”

He faltered, but she didn’t cut him off this time. “Yes?”

“You have a lovely voice, Brienne.”

His compliment was one thing, but more than that his sexy erotic audio-book voice was getting deep into her again. She could clearly picture him talking dirty to her, whispering toe-curling filth into her ear, the words, the seductive rasp sending tingles all through her. At once, she imposed a tight control over her breath. Too heavy, she feared, it would end up if she didn’t work up all the restraint she could put in.

“I was wondering if—” another bout of irregular breathing broke his flow “—if you thought ill of me because of the porn subscription that day.”

“Nah,” she shrugged it off, “not at all.” Her mind started to wander. If this man sounded so irresistible, his voice enough to get her all knotty and tingly, what he’d be like in person—

“I was also wondering if—” he gave a false cough “—if we could meet for a drink or something?”

“A drink?” This was going too fast, yet, it wasn’t.

“Yeah—” he huffed, sending another shiver down her neck and right down to the base of her spine- “—but if you feel I’m rushing things, imposing—” 

“You didn’t feel so when you kept calling me all week.” Much to her own surprise, she was blushing. And glad he couldn’t see her flushed cheeks. “Day after day—” 

“—in the hope that I might find the courage to get to this,” he said, “I can be quite persistent, but if you still find me a nuisance—” there was a distinct dip in the fervour in his voice “—my apologies, I’ll just back off and delete your number—”

“How about tomorrow evening?” she found herself asking, her heart fluttering like a teen awaiting her first date. “It’s Friday night and I'm free after work—” she paused, then despite the tremor in her voice, added “—Jaime.”

“I'm looking forward to it.” Brienne could hear the smile in his voice. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
